There was always a feeling, a concern lurking somewhere in the back of the mind, that the ghost of ill-discipline was eventually going to haunt the All Blacks at the World Cup.
They had been riding their luck on that front for longer than they should have thought safe.
They picked up a yellow card on the opening night of the tournament when Will Jordan was guilty of not taking due care when he was chasing and challenging for high balls.
He was perhaps even fortunate, given his recidivist offending on the night, that it didn’t end up as a red card, but certainly the yellow he picked up midway through the second half proved to be the turning point – the moment France needed to seize control of the game and win.
As All Blacks head coach Ian Foster would say after the 27-13 loss, the first pool defeat in New Zealand’s history: “Will was a bit clumsy with aerial things and the second hurt us. We have to get more efficient in the air.”
The following week Ethan de Groot was red carded for a high tackle with 10 minutes left to play against Namibia.
He didn’t get his body height right and his timing was a fraction off, so he paid the price.
There were no complaints from the All Blacks about the decision, but there was some frustration that once again they would have a player in front of the judiciary, facing at least a two-week ban for an indiscretion that looked entirely avoidable.
The maddening thing for the All Blacks coaching team was that the message was simply not getting through.
They had been beating the drum about the importance of retaining 15 men on the field for the entirety of the World Cup cycle, but coming into 2023, they were using strong statistics to illustrate to the players the importance of playing within the rules.
The maddening thing for the All Blacks coaching team was that the message was simply not getting through.
Ireland were world number one and – not coincidentally – also the most disciplined team in the world. In their 22 Tests leading into the World Cup, stretching back to June 2021, they picked up just two yellow cards.
France, who throughout 2021 and 2022 were vying with Ireland for that top spot, were delivered one yellow and one red over that period.
The All Blacks, on the other hand, were shown a litany of cards and the evidence was writ large about how much that was hurting them.
In their last game of 2021 in Paris, a yellow card to Ardie Savea in the last 12 minutes killed the comeback they were mounting.
In the July 2022 series against Ireland, they were shown two yellows and a red in the first 30 minutes of the second Test, and when they allowed England to come back from 25-6 behind in their final game of that same year, the catalyst was a yellow card to Beauden Barrett with nine minutes to go.
On the flip side, there was further correlation to prove the link between discipline and success when they won the Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup in 2023 without having a single man sent to the sin-bin.
Which is why, when they arrived in Europe in August this year to play South Africa in a pre-tournament warm-up Test, they understood entirely that if they were to win the World Cup, they would need their discipline to be immaculate.
“There have been a lot of cards, but the rules are pretty obvious,” All Blacks forwards coach Jason Ryan observed in London before the match against the Springboks.
“You have just got to stay away from the head. You have got to get your tackle technique right and live under the ball. You have still got to be dominant though.”
But the All Blacks didn’t get that right at Twickenham – they were shown three yellow cards in the first half and because two of them were issued to Scott Barrett, he was sent off.
It was the rot the All Blacks couldn’t stop and yet they somehow managed to get away with it in the quarter-final when they incurred two yellow cards.
And so when De Groot was shown a red card against Namibia, it meant the All Blacks had accumulated four yellows and two reds since they had arrived in Europe to begin their World Cup campaign.
It was the rot the All Blacks couldn’t stop and yet they somehow managed to get away with it in the quarter-final when they incurred two yellow cards.
Their general discipline was improved against Ireland, but they were still being plagued by moments of indiscretion.
Aaron Smith was perhaps unfortunate to be shown a yellow when he instinctively stuck his hand out at a pass, but there were no complaints about Codie Taylor’s as he pulled a driving maul down in full view.
In the semi-final, Scott Barrett was yellow carded late in the piece for a remarkably dumb act of slapping the ball while he was lying on the ground.
The cracks were there, but no one wanted to see them or believe that come the final, the All Blacks would not use the size of the occasion and the importance of what was at stake to get their house in order.
Two days before the showdown, Foster was asked about South Africa’s decision to again load their bench with seven forwards and how he planned to combat it given that the strategy was first used against the All Blacks at Twickenham before the tournament.
“We doubled up on their 7-1 split by playing with 14 men and 13 at one point for part of that game,” he dryly observed.
“We tried that strategy and decided we didn’t like it so we are going to try a different one.”
Except, come the final, they didn’t try a different one. They went with the same formula, with Shannon Frizell picking up a yellow card just two minutes into the game.
It’s no excuse. We’ve been here for two months and we’ve seen how things have been ruled.
Sam Cane on the red card he incurred during the World Cup final
The killer, though, was of course the red card to Sam Cane. It was a horrible, terrible way for the skipper to leave his mark on the final, but neither he nor the All Blacks had any dispute with the decision.
“We know that collisions need to be low,” Cane said. “If anything, I got caught a bit surprised that he stepped back in my direction. It’s no excuse. We’ve been here for two months and we’ve seen how things have been ruled. Hugely disappointed.
“Obviously so many shitty emotions, on a personal level and on behalf of the team. Mixed in there is a heck of a lot of pride with the way the boys fought out there tonight, gave ourselves an opportunity. They’re just a bunch of warriors.
“So gutted. So proud of how far we’ve come. It hurts so much to fall at the final hurdle and probably the style that we did.
“It can’t be changed. Unfortunately, it is something I am going to have to live with forever.”
The two cards meant that the All Blacks played only 28 minutes of the final with 15 men. South Africa played 60 minutes with 15 men and the analysis could focus on any number of little things as the key moments of where the game was won and lost, but this statistic is the real story of the game.
The All Blacks, for all their bravery in the final to keep believing, to keep fighting and to get so close to victory, were their own worst enemy.
They couldn’t stop having those moments of indiscretion that carried such a high price.
They improved their general discipline as the tournament progressed – their ability to stay onside, to scrummage legally and stay on their feet at the breakdown – but not the lack-of-concentration or lazy moments that saw them pick up a total of five yellow cards and two reds.
It was inevitable, really, that their inability to fix that problem would ultimately come to hurt them, and for incoming coach Scott Robertson, it is obvious what his first needs to be.
The problem with New Zealand Rugby is the NZRFU.
For example The NZ Woman’s Rugby team is still wearing ALTRAD on their Jersey. It has been removed from the AB’s Jersey
Mohed ALTRAD paid the Vice Chairman Bernard Laporte NZ$300k fo make sure ALTRAD was on the French Jersey. Both were convicted and given a two year “suspended Sentence”
Many thought they should have received prison. The NZRFU agreed to ALTRAD on the All Black Jersey, knowing that Mohed Altrad and Bernard Laporte were both before the French Courts when they signed the deal.
The question is who received the “Backhander” at the NZRFU? It’s not really hard to work out.
Laporte has had contact with several “well known NZRFU figures over the years” but I suppose you have to look at the top, when it comes to “corruption”
It will be interesting to see what they do with “Billy Beaumont” The poms will cover it up and he will just stand down.
Google New Zealand Rugby Review August 31st, 2023 and you will see why New Zealand Rugby is in a state of disarray.
It all starts at the top. Bad governance and corruption, leads to poor Coach selection, i.e Foster, which leads to poor Captain selection, poor player selections, because everyone has “something to hide”
After a closely contested first half, the ___ got the edge because of New Zealand’s ill-discipline. The All Blacks conceded too many penalties which ——— was able to convert at regular intervals throughout the match.
This report on the French demolition of the kiwis almost mirrors or could be used with Springboks inserted. This is highly suggestive of an internal kiwi discipline issue that needs to be sorted out.
I suppose failure of my attempt was inevitable…similar to the issue in the last paragraph of this article.
There was no inconsistency according to the rulebook - no matter what the sheep would want to believe… :)
Appreciate the attempt but not successful. Inconsistency is inconsistency - no matter what the cheerleaders say.
Your comment complains of inconsistencies yet you failed to demonstrate, in any of your comments, a single geniune inconsistency. I was raised to be charitable so I’m just trying to help you see the error of your ways…maybe then when the All Blacks falter again you won’t blame the officiating… :)
You are trolling my comment dumbass. Your “validation” is meaningless because you can’t distinguish between a biased opinion and objectivity. Conclude all you like but you are not very smart are ya?
What is the whole point you little troll? :)
You are crying foul that two separate incidents with different attributes received different (fair) punishments.
I can validate my views. You can’t. I truly am left with no alternative but to conclude that you are simply trolling for the sake of it.
Perhaps you are just wanting to validate your views with technical gymnastics and miss the whole point?
Discipline and goal kicking. You could have written the script years ago. ABs have never solved their problem with yellow cards which started around 7 years ago, and were unable to develop RM or BB into world class goal kickers.
You can’t win a world cup without a sharp shooter who kicks 80%+ minimum, or like Pollard and Farrell who must be close to 95% between the 15m lines anywhere in the opposition half.
Springboks are the winningest team in RWC history, and the Kiwis are the whiniest team in RWC history.
I doubt whether Kiwis could even come close to Poms or the Irish after they were defeated.
Anyone who blames the referee is somewhat an “average thinker”.
We all talk about “Rugby” as a great game. Most of us with any brains at all would never encourage our kids to play the game, under the current rules.
Of course its great to watch. Anyone who has played the game since 1995 at Senior Level and higher have a 75 % + chance of CTE before 60 years of age.
You can’t blame any of them for chasing the “Big Money” unless they have children, as they
won’t recognise their grand children in later years.
I have a few mates who are still talking about being “Robbed” Whingers!
New Zealand has a history of “bad discipline” The Barrett boys between them have over 30% of all “Red Cards” ever issued to the All Blacks over 100 years.
World Rugby has a lot to think about. Class action is inevitable. They need to change the rules “Quickly” if the game of “Rugby” is going to survive.
They need to make sure the game is administered by leaders with integrity not by “Fat Faced, greedy little pigs as it is now”
You Kiwis clearly seem to have lost any understanding of rugby. Maybe you should try cricket instead. Oh, wait…:)
Good article. I love the ABs. Need to keep on reminding and training the boys!
RWC 2023 has shown South Africa are the worst team in history to have won a world cup. Couldn’t even score a try against 14 men, scraped their way through the knockout stages with unconvincing victories reliant upon controversial decisions.
I mean, its an opinion and one you have a right to express. Kiwis were trying everything to win but fell shy by a point even still they remain a rugby powerhouse. Its just a one off test on the back of a long campaign. Trophy tournaments are cruel like that, but to the victor the spoils. Peace.
wow.
Nah. The Boks are a great team to grind out all those super close wins in a tough draw. I love our ABs, they just need to be more disciplined.
To be fair mate, RWC knockouts are merely about winning. Nothing else matters. I’d be rapt if the ABs won all their games 3-0 lol. The Boks are very worthy winners.
Get your facts straight before you mouth off garbage.
🏴 : 2 tries to 0
🇮🇪: 1 try each
🇫🇷: 4 tries to 3
🏴: 1 try to 0
🇳🇿: zero tries to 1.
Only got outscored in final. Outscored exciting, running 🇫🇷 & 🏴 teams. Scored as many as Ireland with their super attack structure.
Would you like some salt with your wounds?
lastly it is strange to see new zealand fans take losing so bad as it is not like them. if you disregard the try from the forward pass (and that ball went forward from telea before it hit the ground and went forward off the bounce) and you consider your hooker came away playing the ball with his feet on our side of the ruck when we were 5 m from the tryline, and he was not sent off for a professional foul - decisions also went against SA. so stop complaining and go work on winning the next one.
The Springboks had the toughest path to the cup of any team in history. They played Scotland, Ireland, France, England and New Zealand (all the other sides in the top 6) and beat 4 of them. More importantly, they won the games that counted.
By comparison, England really only had to beat Argentina and Fiji to get the the semis. Aside from England, Argentina’s only challenge was Wales in the quarters. The All Blacks also only played France, Ireland and South Africa and lost 2 of those games. Additionally they had a much easier semi final and an extra day before the final.
Did the Boks play the best game of their lives in the final? Well, no. They were completely worn out from from an extremely demanding draw, but somehow still managed to pull off the win. In my view, despite what you may think, that makes them the best team in history to have won the world cup!
and lastly forget about your try as well that was a mile forward. so some decisions went for you as well
also, these unconvincing victories where we beat 5 of the top 6 teams and new zealand can only muster 1 win of three of the top six teams… not to mention the fact that we have won 4 of 8 tournaments (50%) and you have 3 from 12 (33%)
reminds me of the world cup final where nz beat france 8-7. fantastic rugby
Scraped their way to the knockout stages via the hardest route to the final ever by any team? Lol yeah those guys had it easy and don’t deserve it. Main thing RWC 2023 has shown is that there are A LOT of salty fans out there that don’t deal very well with being on the losing end.
But they had 2 Man of the Match winning performances from O'Keeffe and one from Barnes in their 3 knock-out games. Enough said.
You must have watched a different tournament to the rest of us!
Sour grapes are only good for a whine.
Suck it up Kiwis.
Richie started the sly rot decades ago. If he had been blown up by more balsy refs and vigilant camera work the wannabe AB would have toast years ago. Go listen to that wonderful Neil Young song - On the losing end …. Oh and by the way remind the captain to tackle lower if he wants play with the big boys period.
Why choose the the top 5 % of the body when you can feast on the bottom 95%.
Oh and go find new kickers.
Are you still crying about McCaw beating you? You know that he retired eight years ago, eh.
Wow you need to forgive whoever hurt you man. Carrying such bitterness for more than a decade is unhealthy. Take care mate.
The most obvious weakness of this All Blacks team has been their lack of discipline. It has been frustrating and never resolved for several years. While a lot of the cards have been debatable or unlucky, more effort should have been devoted to simply getting the technique right to eradicate it. You make your own luck and, to be clear, other teams haven’t been anywhere as unlucky. Moving forward, it has to be eradicated from NZs game.
Spot on.
It’s what I call the Richie McCaw legacy. No question McCaw was brilliant at ‘scooting round the edges of the law’, to put it nicely and got away with it because of a love affair with McCaw from the Refs who admired his sneakiness. Especially Nigel Owens. Who the other Refs admired.
Unfortunately current All Blacks have tried to emulate this ‘sneakiness’ but nobody can match the master of c……..
Hence they stumble. The whole NZ game became centered around it while other teams moved on. NZ is stuck in this paradigm.
Rubbish take but gave us a few laughs. Cheers mate lol.
New Zealand is the “most undisciplined side amongst the top 5 teams” Please don’t embarrass us anymore by “whinging” about the referee.
Worst Captain, Worst Coach, Biggest hiding at Twickenham in All Black History, First red card in WRC Final. Jesus these boys sure set a “few records”
…….lost a World Cup final by 1 point with 14 men, you forgot that bit
100%.
You have to practice shifting your tackle height, it’s all muscle memory. When you make split second decisions you will revert to your reflexes.
Aw - that was the problem.
When it comes to discipline over time, it’s the skipper who sets the tone. And it takes years in the saddle to develop & bed in.
For the ABs, when your skipper is missing for half of the test matches played over four years, it’s impossible to effectively build that on-field (in the saddle) leadership group needed to consistently & constantly guide the team in times of high pressure. On the paddock is where deep leadership trust & resource is built, consciously, & subconciously.
Cane’s “now you see me now you don’t” leadership model not only robbed the team of quality “battlefield” growth time between him & his lieutenants, it brought instability as fill-in captains stepped in for a few games here & the odd game there. All the team talks & classroom sessions, etc, fall short because the situation is temporary. Different leadership styles, different personalities, different communication skills, referee management, etc, means that constantly swapping skippers isn’t seamless. And certainly not for about 23 out of 46 tests.
This season I was calling for Cane to be replaced by Ardie Savea as skipper because we needed leadership stability in this RWC year. Cane would then compete for a spot in the 23 when available & would no doubt be our starter number #7. It’s no surprise to me we were well disciplined during TRC & Bledisloe. Sadly, it was also no surprise to me that Cane botched the RWC final (with flying colours).
Interesting point. Have nothing against Cane but Ardie Savea would have made an excellent choice as captain.
The Ref gave SAF a penalty and then admitted he was wrong after seeing the replay but couldn’t reverse the decision - But after ABs scored a try TMO reversed the try going back to an infringement that was by the defending team ( SAF).
Inconsistent
No boet. Cling on to that if it makes you feel better. What the ref said was “Sorry mate. I didn’t see a clear release.” Go and read the article in the New Zealand Herald which clarifies it . How pathetic that the “we can’t possibly lose” Kiwis are saying because he said sorry he made a mistake. My God how absolutely pathetic you are clinging to the most fragile thread to prove we wuz robbed.
No he did not admit he was wrong and the penalty was correctly given. Go check again.
You got the try 2 minutes later so hardly any difference there (and yes the pass was backwards - all fair).
I found that once the finals came the infringement discipline kicked in, all 3 games were under 6 penalties, when we were routinely hitting in the mid teens before.
Im still after the last 6 years of crackingdown on head contact not sold that it is being implemented right.
Most head contact outside of the two 5m lines is accidental, I don’t think there’s been a “on purpose I want to hurt this guy hit” yet, there’s bad technique as well but that’s not deliberate.
Cane was caught retreating to the def line, the player turning into him, not prepared for the tackle, that a big mitigation factor for me.
With the nature of rugby, as good as your tackling is, there is going to be head contact at some point in your career, like 5m from the try line, picking and going, oh but that’s a rugby tackle.
It’s got nothing to do with “on purpose.” It is so frustrating when keyboard warriors who have no reference of authority outside Tv commentary and opinions on platforms like this are so bloody ignorant of the actual laws.
Agreed
Accidental head knocks cause CTE just as much as on purpose. Head injuries and the long term viability of the game are at stake. Hence the attention it’s getting from officials. There’s a lawsuit underway too.
I watched highlights of a RC match between the ABs and boks. Must have been late 2000s. The sheer number of head hits in the few minutes of footage was mind blowing. No cards. Not even penalties. Very dangerous yet not even noticed or blown by refs. Just part of the game.
Compared to today, the game appears much safer already.
The killer problem was poor officiating. The killer problem was SA intimidation for three years towards match officials for not getting all the 5050s. The killer was missed kicks and a TMO that wanted to make a name for himself. Finally, the killer was a reluctance to apply laws consistently, not only across games but within the same game. It was hw rugby gods at work - i’m going to show you all once and for all that the game is broken. Send off Cane but keep Kolsi on. Nail Frizzell for falling down at a ruck, forget about Ebens forearm to Canes head. On numerous games prior SA didn’t even get penalized for high shots. We should publish them.
Spot on. And of course the penalty that was awarded to SA against Ardie that wasn't a penalty but oh well, we will just give Pollard 3 pts. Crazy how well we competed till the end and only lost by a point.
Definitely need to have more discipline going forward, especially when you're competing against the refs as well.
AB's will be back.
How do you account for the fact and it is a fact that NZ have got 50% more cards for head high tackles over the past four years than any other first tier team. That is with refs from all nations against all other teams no SA intimidation. Bad luck. Yes you NZers believe that everyone is against you. What you don’t believe is that you are not nearly as good at rugby as you were eight years ago. A waning force which will become a second tier rugby nation because of so many people like you who think the blame is anywhere except with your precious All Blacks. Can’t beat the B And I Lions for the first time ever. Lose a home series to Ireland for the first time ever. Get beaten by the biggest margin ever, lose to France, lose to the Springboks - but it’s all a Springbok conspiracy. And that’s why you will continue to get beaten because you don’t say - How can we fix this. You say - it’s someone else’s doing. You will go downhill at an ever increasing rate mate unless you man up and accept the blame lies with you and do something to fix it. But we love the way you think.
Keep going. Keep blaming everyone else. One less nation to beat on the way to another World Cup.
Stop you killing me! 😂🤣😂 Stop being such a cry baby you are embarrassing the proud NZ name of other NZ fans, just grow a pair and move on
Frizzell got done for a Dangerous Neck Roll. That IS a yellow all day long.
The fact that he fell on Bongi's knee is coincidental.
The fact that the Boks played 75 minutes with a flanker(a small one) as a hooker is hilarious.
It’s a tough one to comment on.
But from an outsider point of view, this is what I see and hear .
The pundits in NZ comment on how the rules are obnoxious.
Going back to the legend that is Tana Umaga's tackle on Brian O'Driscoll.
It was like no one in NZ thought it was wrong. Probably, as every Kiwi is reading this comment right now, you probably are offended by me writing this.
I hear the same comment when I followed the Superrugby last season. Whenever there is a red/yellow card concerning the tackle, the comments are mostly about the “unfairness” (ridiculousness) of the High Tackle/Dangerous tackle laws.
In all fairness, it’s like Owen Farell's tackling technique: for everyone else it’s just so clear:dude WHEN are you going to learn to tackle?
Please, no offense to NZ to compare him with OF, but hey guys: When are you guys going to say: “Yes, let us respect the principle of the laws and adjust the tackle technique?”
Fair call
Owen Farrell doesn’t even bother to use his arms. There’s a difference between getting the height wrong and not attempting to make a legal tackle at all.